A murder mystery problem solving activity where children need to solve clues and use a process of elimination to work out who the killer is. Maths skills involved include doubling numbers, working out halves and quarters of numbers, multiplication, arrays and number patterns. This activity worked very well with P3 and 4 classes in mixed ability pairs. Children found the task engaging and fun.

‘Who Stole the Dragon’s Egg’? problem solving mystery. A KS1/First level activity requiring children to use a range of strategies to eliminate suspects and work out who stole the egg from the angry dragon. Includes, shape, decoding, use of number bonds to 20 and subtraction.

Two pages of worded maths problems involving fidget spinners (with answers included for teacher, self or peer assessment). The problems include long division, multiplication, addition, subtraction and money problems.

A village is having its Autumn scarecrow festival. On the day, the scarecrows have all been stolen! The local villagers are all suspects,and pupils must solve clues to work out who the thief is. The children will need to use elimination, drawing strategies and solve multiplication and decimal questions in order to solve the mystery.

A football team has won a cup and after a night of celebration, they discover it has been stolen. Pupils need to use a range of mathematical strategies to solve each clue and eliminate suspects until only one remains - the thief. The clues involve working systematically, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, fractions and decoding.

A fortune teller has been found dead at the summer fair. Children have to use a range of mathematical skills to solve clues and eliminate suspects to reveal the name of the killer. Children will solve worded money problems, fractions, use decoding skills and work in a systematic and methodical manner. Children can complete this task alone, or it works well with mixed ability pairs. Printable certificates to give to the children who solve the case are included, as are the answers.

You return to school after the holidays, to the gruesome scene of a dead body! As the detective you need to use maths strategies to work out who the killer is and prove it by working out where they committed the crime and what they used to do it. The activity utilises deciding skills, elimination, place value and working out worded problems.

A problem solving mystery or KS1/ First Level CFE. Children have to use addition, subtraction, elimination and simple multiplication to solve clues. A woodland fairy has stolen the Elf King’s Magic Toadstool. The clues allow names from a list of fairy suspects to be eliminated. Fun and motivating activity that allows younger children to develop their problem solving skills. Great end of term/revision activity.